After a successful turn of his sold-out Free Palestine tour in Dublin, Paris, and London, Macklemore says nine U.S arenas have turned him away. This list includes four New York City-Area venues: Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, and Prudential Center.
This dispute follows recent controversy from September when Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour after stadium operators objected to his pro-Palestine remarks, reportedly threatening to block shows if he stayed on the bill. Other supporting acts Finneas, Beoga, and Lukas Graham left the tour in solidarity, and Macklemore pledged his $1 million in earnings to six organizations supporting Palestinians. Macklemore then launched his own Free Palestine Tour to raise funds for groups aiding Palestinian people.
In his Instagram statement, the rapper says these tour dates were originally offered by the venues and then withdrawn. “But once they found out these were my benefit shoes for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table,” says Macklemore. He added that in more than twenty years of touring, he had never experienced anything like it.
In response to Macklemore’s statements, Madison Square Garden representatives have stated that this rejection is due to the venue’s extremely limited availability, and that Macklemore is “not an arena level act.” Yet the Free Palestine dates in Dublin, Paris, and London were all sold-out, which raises questions about that description. The venue’s statements did not address any political motivations in the decision. The other venues have yet to comment.
Despite these rejections, Macklemore isn’t backing down. He says that there will be more shows for Palestine and that he’ll be working with other artists and organizers to put them on. MSG may call it a scheduling issue, but four arenas in one metro area passing on a successful tour raises questions about whose voice these stages are open to.
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